The Office of Multicultural Services (OMS) makes every effort to dialogue with community partners, community leaders, and community members. OMS is committed to supporting the growth of “community defined evidence” through which new strategies, approaches, and interventions defined by individual communities can be identified and supported to achieve a higher level of evidence.

Community defined evidence is defined as, “a set of practices that communities have used and determined to yield positive results as determined by community consensus over time and which may or may not have been measured empirically but have reached a level of acceptance by the community” (Ken Martinez, Psy.D., El Boletin, Fall/Winter 2008, p.9).

Building Partnerships: The Department of Mental Health supported a statewide community engagement project conducted by the UC Davis Center for Reducing Health Disparities (CRHD). Under the leadership of Dr. Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, CRHD developed relationships with historically un-served and under-served communities, community-based agencies, and a group of dedicated advocates. CRHD reached out, engaged, and collected input via 30 focus groups with different population groups and other means. The findings from this community engagement effort provide valuable insight and guidance to all who were involved in developing and implementing programs funded through the Mental Health Services Act. For your information, we are pleased to provide the Building Partnerships publications, which include many community voices that have not been previously heard:

• Engaging the Under-served: Personal Accounts of Communities on Mental Health Needs for Prevention and Early Intervention Strategies
• Building Partnerships: Key Considerations when Engaging Under-served Communities Under the MHSA
• Building Partnerships: Conversations with Communities About Mental Health Needs and Community Strengths
• Building Partnerships: Conversations with African Americans About Mental Health Needs and Community Strengths
• Building Partnerships: Conversations with the Hmong About Mental Health Needs and Community Strengths
• Building Partnerships: Conversations with Latina/o and Asian-American Parent Advocates About Mental Health Needs and Community Strengths
• Building Partnerships: Conversations with Latina/o Migrants Workers About Mental Health Needs and Community Strengths
• Building Partnerships: Conversations with Native Americans About Mental Health Needs and Community Strengths
• Building Partnerships: Conversations with LGBTQ Youth About Mental Health Needs and Community Strengths

For more information or to offer your feedback on the Building Partnerships project and publications, please contact Marbella Sala at the UCD Center for Reducing Health Disparities. Ms. Sala can be reached at marbella.sala@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.

Other Community Engagement Publications:

Principles of Community Engagement provides public health professionals, health care providers, researchers and community-based leaders and organizations with both the theoretical framework and practical guidance for engaging partners in projects to advance health science and benefit communities nationwide.

You can download this publication from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry website: www.atsdr.cdc.gov/communityengagement.